The Chicago Artists Coalition is my kind of web site. I like the colors, the simplicity and clarity of the formatting, and manageable quantity of information on the home page. I love that all the members have online galleries and that this is displayed prominently on the first page...it was fun to peruse around in different people's galleries. This is another great organization to know about! They have done a very successful job making all of the info on their site accessible to people. It seems to match their mission of being advocates for the artist community; it's great to know there's somewhere to go for practical artist questions, like taxes, health insurance, jobs, studio space, etc.
They seem to be a well-established organization, and they probably have more resources to devote to their website than some of the others we've seen whose sites haven't been so put-together. The calendar has all I could ever hope for in an events calendar! There's a whole lot of info there, but it is easy to scroll the headings/dates for eye-catching events and then click on the links for more detailed info. A+ for CAC.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Chicago Artists Resource
The Chicago Artist's Resource web site seems indeed to be a useful and thorough "resource" for artists. I would appreciate some type of short mission statement on the homepage stating what they do or hope to do. I think this is important, especially since there is no place to go and find this information...the tabs immediately filter visitors to the website based on the type of art they are interested in...dance, music, visual, theater...oops, I take that back, there is an "About" tab at the very bottom, but since the pages are so long, I nearly missed it. I would recommend repeating that in tab or link format up top as well
The pages were a bit info-heavy and scrolly for my liking, but well-organized, and I found useful information easily. I like the democratic nature of the site in that anyone is invited to submit an artist story or banner art. I like the different banner art selections - they made the site lively. I understand that funding is probably limited, so the google ads on the right-hand bar are there to generate revenue, but I find them distracting...
The pages were a bit info-heavy and scrolly for my liking, but well-organized, and I found useful information easily. I like the democratic nature of the site in that anyone is invited to submit an artist story or banner art. I like the different banner art selections - they made the site lively. I understand that funding is probably limited, so the google ads on the right-hand bar are there to generate revenue, but I find them distracting...
Dear Blog
Dear Blog,
I wanted to apologize for neglecting you for these past few weeks. It's not you; it's me. I've been spending time with other technologies and art education-related activities...videos about hair, wikis, thesis proposals, unit plans for C&I, NAEA conferences, and the like. I really do have a good time when we get to hang out, but lately I haven't given you the time you deserve. I'd like to make it up to you in these last few weeks of the semester. I'll start by doing a web critique that is due in 3 short hours...
Sincerely,
Katie
I wanted to apologize for neglecting you for these past few weeks. It's not you; it's me. I've been spending time with other technologies and art education-related activities...videos about hair, wikis, thesis proposals, unit plans for C&I, NAEA conferences, and the like. I really do have a good time when we get to hang out, but lately I haven't given you the time you deserve. I'd like to make it up to you in these last few weeks of the semester. I'll start by doing a web critique that is due in 3 short hours...
Sincerely,
Katie
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Street Level Youth Media
Street Level Youth Media, an organization giving a media "voice" to underserved youth ages 14-19, seems like a pretty amazing operation...the website was a pleasure to visit. The interactive home page was fun (and no scrolling required), and once inside the site, I found it easy to navigate. The tabs and sidebars were logical and easy to follow. My only suggestion might be to add drop down menus, but then again, not having them made me go to each portion of the site, so maybe the lack of drop downs is meant to get people moving all around the site.
They seem to have a lot of interesting projects going on, in particular FAVC - Female Action Voicing Change, the Changing Community Project, and a cool Summer Arts Apprenticeship Program. The organization seems to be well networked, with its partnerships w/CPS , CAPE, and a bunch of other schools, including SAIC. The archive was fun to peruse, but I am surprised there isn't a larger archive - they seemed to have mostly current stuff, and I'm wondering if when they put up the new, they take down the old?
They seem to have a lot of interesting projects going on, in particular FAVC - Female Action Voicing Change, the Changing Community Project, and a cool Summer Arts Apprenticeship Program. The organization seems to be well networked, with its partnerships w/CPS , CAPE, and a bunch of other schools, including SAIC. The archive was fun to peruse, but I am surprised there isn't a larger archive - they seemed to have mostly current stuff, and I'm wondering if when they put up the new, they take down the old?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Mess Hall
Mess Hall-Chicago's website is a mess! I admit to reading Jess Kaz's blog prior to even going on the site, so maybe her post tainted my experience of the site. But, really, is it necessary to have every single link POSSIBLE on the homepage? I'm known for disliking the scrolly, text-heavy homepage, so as you can imagine, I'm not a fan of this one. I like their simple color scheme and blocky format, but how about some separate tabs for "links" and "Rogers Park resources"?
I like their calendar, how everything is there and color-coded and how each event is a link that - when clicked on - leads to more information. I've been frustrated by the lack of info on other websites, so this is great...only thing is the only way I could get back out once I was in was by pressing my browser's "back" button, which is slightly irritating. This is unfortunately true on not just the calendar page...
The Love Letter to Chicago is great (however, the links at the bottom don't always work....oops). The links that do work bring you out of the site rather than opening a new window or tab, which would be preferable. This is another great Chicago community art resource (and, wow, they're not even a non-profit!) but they could use a "shower," as Kaz suggests...
I like their calendar, how everything is there and color-coded and how each event is a link that - when clicked on - leads to more information. I've been frustrated by the lack of info on other websites, so this is great...only thing is the only way I could get back out once I was in was by pressing my browser's "back" button, which is slightly irritating. This is unfortunately true on not just the calendar page...
The Love Letter to Chicago is great (however, the links at the bottom don't always work....oops). The links that do work bring you out of the site rather than opening a new window or tab, which would be preferable. This is another great Chicago community art resource (and, wow, they're not even a non-profit!) but they could use a "shower," as Kaz suggests...
Pros Arts Studio
Pros Arts Studio seems like a great, home-grown Pilsen/Little Village community arts organization...with SAIC Art Ed's own (or former?) Giselle Mercier as its executive director. No doubt that this organization is up to great things, but they could use a little help conveying that visually and virtually!
While I admit that the low-budget, amateur website feel does give me a warm and fuzzy feeling (I realized I kind of miss blue links that turn purple upon visitation), I do have a few suggestions:
While I admit that the low-budget, amateur website feel does give me a warm and fuzzy feeling (I realized I kind of miss blue links that turn purple upon visitation), I do have a few suggestions:
- enlarge name/logo, especially on the home page, but throughout the site would be good.
- redesign that top menu bar...the orange grid thing has got to go.
- cut down on the amount of text throughout the site by at least half.
- choose a font & size to use throughout and stick with it; sans serif would be ideal!
- intersperse links throughout so different portions of the site talk to one another.
- the calendar could be spruced up...how about embedding a google g-calendar? This can be done very easily...
- what's with the "showcase" page...I don't get it.
- to end on a positive note, I think the photo selection is great.
The Chicago Art Department (CAD)
WOW. There are so many cool community arts networks in this city. The Chicago Art Department
seems to be no exception. It's great to be filing away all these great places to take (cheap!) classes post-SAIC.
At least its scrolly home page is light on the text. It has visuals, video, and broadcasts, which is pretty cool to see on a homepage. It gives just enough info on the first page to make me interesting in learning more. And learn I did. I learned a new word: "intermedia" which is sort of the digital equivalent for "mixed media." I heart the graphics on this site. I love how the sidebar changes with each different menu item. It keeps it dynamic, and they've chosen interesting images. Except I just realized these graphics only change for the first three sections, and then they stay the same...slightly disappointing.
The Events/Exhibitions is a little scant on information -- I thought the listings would be links with additional info, but no: disappointing. Nice embedding of flickr/youtube archives within their site. Resident artists: cool. Very alive site -- it definitely makes me want to visit in person someday.
seems to be no exception. It's great to be filing away all these great places to take (cheap!) classes post-SAIC.
At least its scrolly home page is light on the text. It has visuals, video, and broadcasts, which is pretty cool to see on a homepage. It gives just enough info on the first page to make me interesting in learning more. And learn I did. I learned a new word: "intermedia" which is sort of the digital equivalent for "mixed media." I heart the graphics on this site. I love how the sidebar changes with each different menu item. It keeps it dynamic, and they've chosen interesting images. Except I just realized these graphics only change for the first three sections, and then they stay the same...slightly disappointing.
The Events/Exhibitions is a little scant on information -- I thought the listings would be links with additional info, but no: disappointing. Nice embedding of flickr/youtube archives within their site. Resident artists: cool. Very alive site -- it definitely makes me want to visit in person someday.
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